Chapter 18 – Floor 1: Part 10

Standing on the rise outside of August City, Mathew watched as the roof collapsed on the extravagant mansion or palace that dominated the west side of the town. Sparks were sent skyward as a fountain of flames erupted from within.

The sun was about to set. The sky above them was streaked with red and orange as the smoke caught the last of the light.

Mathew’s plan had been more effective than what even he had expected. The entire city was aflame. The few buildings that had appeared to be outside the reach of the inferno were being focused on by torch and fire arrow-wielding arsonists.

Sitting on the wagon, Greg and Amanda were whispering quietly to each other. Mathew could see their nervousness, and it was a feeling they all shared. He had no idea if this plan would work, if burning the city would count as clearing it or if there would be a horde of undead waiting for them as soon as the sun disappeared over the horizon.

“Get ready to run.” Mathew said unnecessarily.

Everyone knew that if the undead emerged, they couldn’t be caught in the open. They would need to retreat back across the stream, possibly destroying the wooden bridge in the process to buy themselves more time to get back behind the wall.

“It’s going to work, Mat. You can feel the heat from here. I can’t imagine anything surviving inside that hellhole. You just gotta have faith.” Greg replied, earning a scoff from his friend.

“It can’t be this easy. There has to be a trick or something.” Mathew responded.

“You call that easy? I’ve never burned down an entire town before, so I have nothing to compare it to, but there was nothing easy about that.”

They had used an entire wagonload of supplies and Blessings to increase the spread of the fires. Combined with the lack of rain over the last few months, they hadn’t had much trouble putting the city to the torch. But it was still a sizable endeavour.

“We’ll find out in a minute if it worked.” Amanda stated, pointing to the rim of the sun that finally dipped below the horizon.

They waited in silence, the roaring of the fires consuming August City the only sound as light retreated from the world, leaving it in darkness. Mathew strained his ears, waiting for the start of that horrid wailing that always precluded the undead’s arrival.

But there was nothing. The stars peeked through the smoke and cloud cover above, shining down on a City that had finally succumbed to its death.

“Well, that’s that then.” Greg said, sliding off the wagon and looking around at the others.

“If that were true, then why haven’t we cleared the floor?” Mathew wondered.

“Maybe it needs to burn down completely? Perhaps a few undead are still trapped within, and they haven’t perished yet?” Amanda commented, and Greg nodded.

“That’s it. Once the sun comes up, the rest will be finished. Worse comes to worse. After the fire stops, we go in and mop up any we missed.” Greg added.

“Or maybe we’re just waiting for the ‘boss’ to appear.” Mathew retorted, and the ground began to rumble before Greg could respond. With a loud ‘crash,’ several buildings toppled in the center of the city. The collapse was followed by a loud roaring sound, a bestial cry that echoed.

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“Damn it all! You couldn’t get your big mouth shut, Mathew.” Greg cursed, hefting his bow and fitting a tar pitch-covered arrow to the string.

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The undead that emerged from beneath the streets of August City was massive. Over ten feet tall, it was bulky and oversized. Its face was bestial, with two large horns protruding from its skull. Its bones were visible through enormous, rotten gaps in its skin.

Standing in the street amongst the flames, it raised its head to the sky and screamed. The noise quickly carried the distance between it and the cluster of humans waiting outside the city.

Seemingly unaffected by the heat coming off the burning buildings surrounding it, it slowly turned towards their group. Its red glowing eyes focused on them, and Mathew shuddered in fear at the attention.

“We should run!” Greg said, only to be surprised that Mathew shook his head and stood his ground.

“The wall isn’t going to stop that thing. At least here, we have room to move around. Once it leaves the city, throw everything we have at it!” Mathew ordered the group.

The rumbling continued as each step the creature took shook the ground beneath it. With a lumbering gait, it took off in their direction.

“It’s slow and clumsy! Spread out!” Mathew said, running downhill and to the right of where the creature was approaching.

“God damn it.” Greg muttered, taking off to the left while setting his notched arrow ablaze. The dozens of others followed suit, keeping their distance from each other while readying weapons and Blessings. Once the monster cleared the last of the building, Greg let loose an arrow.

The projectile streaked through the night sky, arching gracefully before slamming into the undead’s torso. The flames flickered and caught, the burning tar splashing across its skin. Ignoring it, the undead continued forward.

Another set of arrows stuck, followed by a spear that hurtled through the air with a whine and struck the creature in the leg. Stumbling, it seemed as if it would fall, but it righted itself.

“Come one. Just a little bit closer.” Mathew muttered, carefully judging the distance.

“Patrick, keep it in place for a moment!” He shouted, directing the other man to use his Wind Blessing to keep it in place. A gust of air pushed past them, directed by Patrick’s outstretched hand.

As a ‘Forecaster,’ Patrick had access to two Blessings at level four. His second wasn’t helpful for combat since it could only keep rain from falling onto him, keeping him dry even in the worse weather.

The undead held its hands up, shielding its face from the stinging, ash-carrying wind that suddenly struck it. It was pushed back slightly, its feet digging into the soft ground. Patrick panted at the exertion, having to drop the spell after only a second, but it was enough for Mathew.

With a snap of his fingers, a fire sprang into existence beneath the giant undead’s right leg. It roared angrily, swiping at the fire while trying to free itself from the flames and the wind. In an instant, it tore through the spell, its body too strong and large to be held for more than a fraction of a second.

The flames clung to its leg for a moment before fading, leaving the leg black and charred.

“Hit it again!” Mathew shouted, watching the monster rampage. It began swinging its large arms in broad, sweeping motions. Another arrow struck its torso, setting another section alit while a spear drove into its shoulder.

A brave man wielding a large axe swung at the undead’s damaged leg only to be struck full-on by one of its arms. Mathew watched as the warrior sailed through the air and landed on the ground with a sickly, wet splat.

Snapping his finger, Mathew conjured another fire, striking the same leg. With a bellow, the undead punched out, hitting a trio of people who had clustered too close together, drawing the attention of the monster. Mathew watched them disappear in a bloody mist.

For minutes, the group fought to bring down the undead, whittling away at its flesh and limbs and sustaining more losses to their own ranks until it collapsed onto the ground. Firing another arrow into the creature’s head, piercing its skull, Greg dropped his bow in exhaustion at the realization that it was defeated.

Not satisfied, Mathew set one last fire around its head, burning it away until nothing remained but ashes.

Floor 1: Complete!

You have freed August City from the undead menace, earning the gratitude of both the continent of Thassa and the gods who rule here.

Completion Bonus: One Discipline choice will be randomly upgraded to the next Rarity during your following selection.

Please proceed to Floor 2.